Top 40 cities ranked based on hours of delay saved due to use of public transit

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Public transportation’s value as a solution to relieving congestion was validated once again by the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) 2011 Urban Mobility Report. The report which was released today looks at road congestion in 439 United States urban areas and notes that relieving congestion will be critical to keep up with job growth as the economy rebounds. As in past years, the data overwhelmingly shows the importance of public transportation in relieving congestion. (See the table below for the top 40 urban areas).

The 2011 Urban Mobility Report makes clear that without public transportation services, travelers would have suffered an additional 796 million hours of delay and consumed 303 million more gallons of fuel. Had there been no public transportation service available in the 439 urban areas studied, congestion costs for 2010 would have risen by nearly $17 billion from $101 to $118 billion.

“This report clearly shows as our economy rebounds, expanding public transportation use is key to reducing traffic congestion,” said American Public Transportation Association (APTA) President William Millar. “Even if you don’t ride public transportation, there are clear benefits in supporting expansion of public transit options. Better public transportation in your community means less congestion on the roads.”

The association notes in addition to its proven record of reducing congestion, public transportation offers economic benefits. Every $1 billion invested in public transportation creates and supports 36,000 jobs. Public transportation plays an important role in helping people commute to work; nearly 60 percent of all trips on public transportation involve travel to and from job sites.

U.S. public transportation use also produces significant energy-savings benefits. Each year 4.2 billion gallons of gasoline are saved because our citizens use public transportation.

“This report serves as further evidence that Congress needs to pass a long-term transportation bill to expand public transit as part of the solution to reduce our dependence on foreign oil,” said Millar. “Greater investment in public transportation has the benefit of putting people to work as well as getting people to work.”

The urban areas listed below had the highest savings in hours of delay due to public transportation use in 2010. Also, included in the following table are congestion cost savings from public transportation use.

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) is a nonprofit international association of more than 1,500 public and private member organizations, engaged in the areas of bus, paratransit, light rail, commuter rail, subways, waterborne passenger services, and high-speed rail. This includes: transit systems; planning, design, construction, and finance firms; product and service providers; academic institutions; transit associations and state departments of transportation. More than 90 percent of the people using public transportation in the United States and Canada are served by APTA member systems.